Google reportedly testing 'hyper-local' news card for Now

According to a report from Quartz, Google is preparing to launch an improved local news card in Now. The card would be an extension of its existing local news offerings, but would bring those stories directly to your handset based on your location. Quartz confirmed the card's existence through Johanna Wright, the vice president of search and assist at Google. She described the card as be "hyper-local," with granularity down to individual neighborhoods. According to Wright, the card is only being tested internally right now, and there's no guarantee of when, or even if, Google will actually bring it to the public.

In many ways Now is meant to be a filter for the absurd amount of information constantly at your fingertips. It's supposed to deliver only the information you need, when you need it. Problem is, Google still seems to be figuring out just what information you need at any given moment. Bus schedules, boarding passes, traffic reports, tourist attractions, calendar appointments, sports scores... the depth of data served up is growing more intimidating with every day. Now already delivers links to news stories that you're following on your desktop. The logical next step (we suppose) is to serve up articles you didn't know you were interested in, based on your location. We've reached out to Google for comment and confirmation, and we'll update this story if we hear back.